Although the people of the Arcane Empire knew that the cloud of war was approaching, no one felt afraid. Because their beloved Archon Majesty had announced to the whole country: Empire was fully prepared.
They are ready to face the unknown future and to face threats from the depths of the universe.
The Consul's Residence, the Supreme Military Conference Room.
Ian is sitting at the head of the long table, with a holographic projection floating in front of him, reviewing the latest information.
"It seems that my aunt is right," Ian thought secretly in his heart, "War is indeed the best Crucible to eliminate Old Era prejudice and racial discrimination. When facing a common external mortal enemy, people will put aside their prejudices and unite closely under the two identities of 'human beings' and 'Empire citizens'."
"Although this cannot completely eradicate the problem, the situation is much better than before. As time goes by, we can definitely cultivate the patriotism of the younger generation in the flames of war."
Turning off the projection in front of him, Ian looked around at everyone in the conference room and said in a deep voice, "It's almost time, let's get started."
Both sides of the long table were filled with senior military officials from the Empire, including Lucius Malfoy who was in charge of Earth Defense Force.
Sitting on the right side of Ian is the commander-in-chief of Imperial Navy - Albert Montblanc.
After hearing the emperor's order, Albert stood up, put his hand on the Crystal ball on the table, and injected a little magic power.
Buzz--
A clear image was instantly projected in the center of the conference table.
The picture showed a spacious stone room, with about thirty people sitting around and arguing about something.
These people are much taller than humans, just like little Giant. Their most striking feature is their blue skin.
It is Steel-Skin Folk.
This is the scene of their High Council. The thirty people here are all strong people who have reached Fourth Tier. And in the center of the meeting, there is a man wearing a crown sitting on his head.
He is the king of Steel-Skin Folk and the strongest of this race.
It can be clearly seen through the image that part of his skin has turned red. According to the Empire's research, this is a sign that he is about to break through to Fifth Tier. Because of this, he can firmly sit on the throne.
According to the law of Steel-Skin Folk, only the strong are worthy of being king.
However, since he has not yet formed a crushing advantage over other Tier 4 powerhouses, the Council still needs to vote when dealing with major matters. Of course, the King has more votes than ordinary members and has veto power on certain controversial issues.
"What do you think of this Arcane Empire?" the king of Steel-Skin Folk asked.
"They are just a bunch of idiots," one congressman said disdainfully. "They actually believed in us so easily and gave us the opportunity to infiltrate and destroy their fleet."
"Moreover, they actually sent a declaration of war? It's really ridiculous. Wouldn't it be better to attack us directly?"
Several congressmen around him echoed, their faces full of ridicule.
At the same time, in the combat conference room of the Empire, several generals couldn't help but frowned when they heard these words.
In fact, some people within the Empire military hold the same view and believe that declaring war is unnecessary.
Unfortunately, according to the regulations of <Galactic Federation Codex>, any force that reaches a certain civilization level must formally declare war before launching a war.
Although some people argue that the federation may not be able to monitor violations in such remote corners, after Dumbledore's multi-party verification, Galactic Federation seems to have some mysterious detection method that can know who has broken the rules.
Maybe it was some kind of high-level Prophecy spell, or maybe it was some kind of Law of Causality weapon. In short, Ian didn't want to provoke such a behemoth at this stage, so he chose to act according to the rules.
"Perhaps they are too confident in their own strength?" another Steel-Skin Folk member speculated in the screen.
"Ailonite, do you have anything to say?" King Steel-Skin Folk looked at an old man who had been silent in the corner.
"I have watched the video of that conflict countless times," the wise man known as Ailonite said slowly, "To be honest, there are too many things that are wrong."
The king of Steel-Skin Folk immediately sat up straight. As a martial race, the strong are respected, but being strong does not mean having brains. Most of the people in Council only know how to kill, but only Ailonite has rare wisdom.
"First of all, their fleet was destroyed too easily," Ailonite analyzed. "Their command system was hacked by us as easily as cutting into tofu, and the soldiers' reactions were extremely mediocre, not at all like the qualities that an interstellar civilization should have."
"This only shows that their technological level is poor," someone interjected.
"Maybe. But do you remember the energy source their fleet uses?"
"Magic," someone answered.
These two words caused the Steel-Skin Folk executives present to fall silent. They have studied magic for thousands of years and tried to integrate it into technology, but they have never succeeded. But this Arcane Empire did it.
This is one of the reasons why they decided to launch an attack - to plunder technology.
"Also," Ailonite continued, "The wreckage of that fleet mysteriously disappeared after the battle, and we didn't even get a single fragment. Our scientists still can't explain how that was done."
After hearing this, the members who commented on Council finally began to become serious. Although they are barbaric, it does not mean that they are really stupid.
"Can you guess the reason behind these anomalies?" asked the king.
"I can't guess," Ailonite shook his head, "But I can be sure of one thing: this war will never be as easy as the ones we have experienced before. We must put away our contempt and prepare for the worst."
The other congressmen nodded and began to discuss more rigorous tactics.
Outside the screen, the generals of the Empire saw this scene and sneered on their faces.
"This is the tragedy of low-level civilizations," one general commented. "Without the power to control their destiny, they are like dancing on the edge of a cliff blindfolded."
"Yes," another person echoed, "In front of our advanced technology and the all-pervasive Divination, all their deployments are transparent. To us, this war is as simple as grabbing candy from a baby."
"Don't be too complacent!"
A stern scolding interrupted everyone's optimism.
The speaker was Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Albert.
He looked at his colleagues present solemnly. "This time our enemy is very weak, so we can use Divination to occupy God's perspective. But in the future, sooner or later, we will encounter a powerful civilization that has mastered the technology of 'Anti-Divination' and 'Anti-Prophecy'."
"Then the war will not be so easy."
"What you should be thinking about now is: After losing the intelligence advantage of omniscience and omnipotence, how should we obtain intelligence? How to ensure the achievement of strategic goals? If the enemy's Divination is stronger than ours, how should we fight back at a disadvantage?"
"This is what you, as the top generals of the Empire, should think about, instead of just being complacent about killing a wild monster in a novice village here!"
Albert's words were like a basin of cold water, instantly dousing everyone's impetuosity.
The generals quickly stopped smiling and sat upright. As the elites of the Empire, they quickly adjusted their mentality and began to examine this war from a deeper strategic perspective.
Ian, who is sitting in the first place, is very satisfied with the performance of Albert.
This is an extremely excellent commander, sober, rational, and with an overall view.
Looking at Albert, Ian actually felt a hint of guilt deep in his heart.
Because he had already decided that the future position of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy would not be reserved for Albert.
With the expansion of the Empire, the interstellar navy will become the sharpest sword in the hand. This power is so huge that it must be in the hands of a person who Ian can trust absolutely and unconditionally.
As for this candidate, he has already decided on Olivia·Armstrong.
However, Ian will not treat Albert badly. He plans to make Albert the deputy commander-in-chief and give him enough merit and honor as compensation.
This is the power of the emperor. For the long-term stability of the Empire, sometimes personal talent must give way to absolute loyalty.